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amazing wheels
Jul. 29th, 2002 02:20 amThis is just a lil tribute to my devoted car.. :>
Back at the end of 1982, it started to be evident I was going to need more reliable wheels.. in fact, my supervisor at work suggested it, or consider shipping out! 8| So for the first time I considered getting a new car.
After going to way too many dealerships where I seemed to know more about the car than the salesman knew, I started to look into Hondas, having heard some good things about them from two family members. I wanted a sedan because I liked having a trunk and also being able to seat at least 5 people :> Even at $8,500 the cheapest ones were still a bit out of my range, working part-time for $4.40 hr.
Within a few weeks, a salesperson I was working with suddenly called me with a deal.. some one had bought a car a week previously and brought it back for a trade-in of the same car in automatic.. it seems they had bought this car without being able to operate a clutch 8| !
After the dealer fixed some right-front-end damage, you could hardly tell there was a problem there before.. and the car had 170 miles on it, but he told me they had to sell it as used.. so I could get it for $6,200 !
The only drawback was that is was a hatchback.. or so I thought ;> I have gotten an entire Christmas tree in the car *hehheh!* The seats weren't too contoured, so I went to put in the nice european seats from my old car in there, and the seat-track was nearly identical! After cutting two inches off the track length, the seat went in perfectly :> ..I just changed one seat, since I can't flip it forward (sedan seat in a hatchback) and wanted to leave one seat with the ability to do that.
Well, now it's at 408,000 miles (with the same clutch!) and still purring like a kitten *wags tail* My previous jalopy went thru 3 clutches by 68,000 miles, and needed a valve job at 70,000!
I am not all that superstitious, but I sometimes like to think it's because I made a little deal with the car.. 'you take care of me and I'll take care of you' :> I have always taken it in for service at 7,000 or so mile intervals, and put super gas in it too. Maybe the motto the year my car was made, "We make it simple" really states why it has endured so well actually *warble* :>
My Dad tells me that Honda should see my car as a shining example and give me a new one free.. heh, ohhhhhhhhh yeah ;> I recently got a replacement part for it at a scrap shop, and the car it came off of had 330,000 miles... and my buddy Gene Catlow's car (not a Honda) had 495,000 miles before it needed a new engine.. :D ..so I'm sure there are plenty of shining examples of cars out there that have stayed the course a long time.
Still, I am very thankful for my little car. It has never decided its plans are more important than mine, and it has never kept me from getting to an appointment.
20 years and counting.. thank you, lil' car :>
Back at the end of 1982, it started to be evident I was going to need more reliable wheels.. in fact, my supervisor at work suggested it, or consider shipping out! 8| So for the first time I considered getting a new car.
After going to way too many dealerships where I seemed to know more about the car than the salesman knew, I started to look into Hondas, having heard some good things about them from two family members. I wanted a sedan because I liked having a trunk and also being able to seat at least 5 people :> Even at $8,500 the cheapest ones were still a bit out of my range, working part-time for $4.40 hr.
Within a few weeks, a salesperson I was working with suddenly called me with a deal.. some one had bought a car a week previously and brought it back for a trade-in of the same car in automatic.. it seems they had bought this car without being able to operate a clutch 8| !
After the dealer fixed some right-front-end damage, you could hardly tell there was a problem there before.. and the car had 170 miles on it, but he told me they had to sell it as used.. so I could get it for $6,200 !
The only drawback was that is was a hatchback.. or so I thought ;> I have gotten an entire Christmas tree in the car *hehheh!* The seats weren't too contoured, so I went to put in the nice european seats from my old car in there, and the seat-track was nearly identical! After cutting two inches off the track length, the seat went in perfectly :> ..I just changed one seat, since I can't flip it forward (sedan seat in a hatchback) and wanted to leave one seat with the ability to do that.
Well, now it's at 408,000 miles (with the same clutch!) and still purring like a kitten *wags tail* My previous jalopy went thru 3 clutches by 68,000 miles, and needed a valve job at 70,000!
I am not all that superstitious, but I sometimes like to think it's because I made a little deal with the car.. 'you take care of me and I'll take care of you' :> I have always taken it in for service at 7,000 or so mile intervals, and put super gas in it too. Maybe the motto the year my car was made, "We make it simple" really states why it has endured so well actually *warble* :>
My Dad tells me that Honda should see my car as a shining example and give me a new one free.. heh, ohhhhhhhhh yeah ;> I recently got a replacement part for it at a scrap shop, and the car it came off of had 330,000 miles... and my buddy Gene Catlow's car (not a Honda) had 495,000 miles before it needed a new engine.. :D ..so I'm sure there are plenty of shining examples of cars out there that have stayed the course a long time.
Still, I am very thankful for my little car. It has never decided its plans are more important than mine, and it has never kept me from getting to an appointment.
20 years and counting.. thank you, lil' car :>
